duane snowhttp://www.readthehook.com/taxonomy/term/626/all
enSnow driven: Board picks moderate Craddockhttp://www.readthehook.com/109879/new-supe-board-picks-moderate-craddock
<p>After the controversy that's rocked the Albemarle Board of Supervisors for most of this year, thanks to the sexual battery conviction of former supe Chris Dumler, the meeting to announce his interim successor July 10 was virtually a love fest.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div class="sidebar">
<h2>Related stories</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/109794/appointment-supes-could-split-dumler-replacement">The appointment: Republicans could pick Dumler replacement</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/109704/180-dumler-resigns-supe-seat">180: Dumler resigns supe seat</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/109685/dumler-stays-judge-says-not-enough-evidence-remove">Dumler stays, fires back: Judge says not enough evidence to remove</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/109163/dumler-dilemma-county-dems-disarray-over-sexual-batterer">Dumler dilemma: County Dems in disarray over sexual battery conviction</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/109107/censured-former-current-supes-call-dumer-resign">Censured: Former, current supes call for Dumler to resign</a></p>
</div>
<p>"It's been a wonderfully participatory couple of weeks," gushed board Chair Ann Mallek, as all five supervisors cast their votes at the beginning of the meeting to appoint William B. "Petie" Craddock to fill the Scottsville seat until the November 5 election. Behind the scenes, it was not quite the smooth sailing that the unanimous 5-0 vote seemed to indicate.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>It was Samuel Miller district Supervisor Duane Snow, the man Dumler consulted before making his June 5 resignation, who held sway in Craddock's appointment.</p>
<p>Snow previously had said he wanted a unanimous vote; he didn't want the process to be political, and he wanted a candidate who promised not to run in November to finish the remainder of Dumler's term, which ends December 31, 2015.</p>
<p>Snow's Republican compadres on the board, Ken Boyd and Rodney Thomas, said they could live with a 3-2 vote for a replacement and a majority on the board. Thomas told the <em>Hook</em> that the frequently split 3-3 board made it difficult to get things done.</p>
<p>Of the 11 people who signed up to be considered for temp supervisor, the top candidates were former Albemarle sheriff Terry Hawkins, a Republican, and Democratic planning commissioner Richard Randolph, according to Snow.</p>
<p>He says that when Dumler met with him to talk about his resignation, "Chris told me he supported Rick Randolph and asked me if I would support him," relates Snow. "I said I know Rick; I've worked with him. I said, you've got my word I would support him. But I said I would not support him at the expense of Ken and Rodney. If I said otherwise, it would be a secret deal."</p>
<p>Snow says he was also asked to support Hawkins, and replied the same way: "I said yes, but not at the expense of Ann and Dennis."</p>
<p>Throughout the requests for support, Snow says he wanted to see a unanimous 5-0 vote. "I could have cast a vote and it would have gone 3-2," he acknowledges. "That would have gone against everything I told [the <em>Hook</em>] in an earlier interview, the <em>Daily Progress</em>, and everyone else."</p>
<p>Snow says there's even a rumor going around that there was a tape of his meeting with Dumler that purported to show his support of Randolph. "I have never said that from day one," insists Snow, who also says he has no idea if such a tape exists.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Dumler did not return a phone call from the <em>Hook</em>.</p>
<p>Boyd admits that Craddock was not his first choice, but declines to say who he supported. "It was not an easy choice," he says. "The main factor for me was to have the consensus of the entire board."</p>
<p>By the 6pm July 10 meeting, the supes were in harmony. Dennis Rooker made the motion, and it was quickly approved by all of his colleagues: Craddock was the 5-0 pick.</p>
<p>"I'm just overwhelmed the supervisors thought enough of me to go with a unanimous vote," said Craddock, who didn't know he was the chosen one until he got to the meeting.</p>
<p>The lifelong Albemarle resident served for eight years on the Planning Commission. He's on the board of the East Rivanna Volunteer Fire Company and the Village of Rivanna Advisory Council. And he insisted he was not interested in the job beyond the November election, a key point on Snow's wish list.</p>
<p>Perhaps most importantly, Craddock billed himself as an independent moderate. When the BOS seat became open, he said, "I got many calls from Republicans, Democrats, and independents, I think because I'm a moderate."</p>
<p>Says Craddock, "I'm not here to follow the footsteps of the previous supervisor. I'm not here to play partisan politics."</p>
<p>First, he says he wants to get up to speed. And after several months of irate citizens appearing before the board to demand Dumler's ouster, Craddock looks forward to things settling down. "I hope to have stability," he says. "You don't need all that rancor upsetting the apple cart."</p>
<p>As for why he considered signing up for the short-term gig, says Craddock, "You only get so many opportunities to step up to the plate, and I felt this was one of those times."</p>
<p>Duane Snow says the response he's gotten following Craddock's appointment has all been positive. "I feel very relieved," he says. "I feel like a weight has been removed from my shoulders, and now we can get to the public's business."</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/109879/new-supe-board-picks-moderate-craddock#comments_BreakingNewsFeaturedAlbemarle Board of Supervisorsduane snowpetie craddockNewsFri, 12 Jul 2013 15:42:49 +0000lisa109879 at http://www.readthehook.comChairman of the board: Fuhgeddaboudit when 29 bypass involvedhttp://www.readthehook.com/108991/board-tradition-forget-about-it-when-29-bypass-involved
<p>If tradition had been upheld on the Albemarle Board of Supervisors, Duane Snow would be chairman. Instead, at its first meeting of the year, the usually decorous board got testy over election of the chairman&#8211; and who would hold the real position of power: a seat on the transportation-controlling <a href="http://www.tjpdc.org/transportation/index.asp">Metropolitan Planning Organization</a>.</p>
<p>Supervisor Ken Boyd accused his anti-29-bypass colleagues of "politicizing" the longstanding tradition of rotating the chair every two years and passing it on to the vice-chair. In this case, Snow would have succeeded Ann Mallek in 2012&#8211; if the wounds weren't still fresh over the notorious midnight vote that brought the 29 bypass roaring back to life.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div class="sidebar">
<h2>Related stories</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/91627/fast-track-western-bypass-shifts-overdrive">Fast track: Western Bypass shifts into overdrive</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/107575/last-chance-hundreds-attend-western-29-bypass-forum">Last chance? Hundreds attend Western 29 Bypass forum</a></p>
<h1 class="title"></h1>
</div>
<p>"This is pretty much a rerun of last year," said Supervisor Dennis Rooker, who made it clear at the January 9 meeting the only way Snow would get a majority vote for board chair would be if he gave up his seat on the MPO.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Republican supes Boyd, Snow, and Rodney Thomas, who is Albemarle's other rep on the MPO, favor the bypass; independent Rooker and Dems Mallek and Christopher Dumler don't. The Board of Supervisors had long opposed the 6.2-mile road until a former supervisor changed his position in a June 8, 2011, midnight vote and paved the way for the resurrection of the bypass.</p>
<p>"I think there's some hard feelings for Lindsay Dorrier's changed vote," says Snow.</p>
<p>"Being chairman is ceremonial," explains Snow. "You can't make policy. Whereas the MPO has options to get things done in the community that need to be done." And the five-person regional board can greenlight transportation projects like the 29 bypass.</p>
<p>When he ran for election in 2009, says Snow, he was told no new roads had been built in Albemarle in 30 years, including BOS-approved projects like the Hillsdale Connector and widening the bottleneck on U.S. 29 north, where it drops to two lanes.</p>
<p>"We've had these projects, but there was no money," says Snow. "If we supported the bypass, these other things would be funded. That's why being on the MPO is so important. If you have someone on it who wants to kill the bypass, these other projects would die, too."</p>
<p>Snow notes that Rooker served on the MPO for 10 years, and when Snow was elected to the board, they flipped a coin for the position. Rooker won and stayed on the MPO for an additional year, then turned the position over to Snow. At that time, the BOS was split 3-3 on the bypass&#8211; until Dorrier changed his vote.</p>
<p>Ann Mallek, who by default becomes the board's longest serving chair in recent history as she enters her fourth year, is unrepentant about tying the chairmanship to an MPO seat. "The MPO decides what's going to be done with federal funds," she says. "That makes it an important position."</p>
<p>As for the custom of serving as chair for two years then stepping aside, she points out another tradition: Supporting the Board of Supervisors' 20 years of opposition to the bypass.</p>
<p>"Dennis was on the MPO for 10 years, but he went along with the board's position," she says. "[Snow and Thomas] went off on their own to talk to the secretary of transportation&#8211; the opposite of the board's position."</p>
<p>Mallek says she asked Snow for his preference&#8211; the chair or the MPO seat&#8211; and he chose the MPO. And with the board's bitter 3-3 split on the bypass spilling over, Snow will remain on the MPO indefinitely, assuming he's reelected to his Samuel Miller District seat in November.</p>
<p>"We work very well on most issues," says Mallek. "We clearly don't find any middle ground on this bypass issue. That's why I've drawn a line in the sand."</p>
<p>"We get along well, we play well together," agrees Snow. "That was different on Wednesday. It was politics at its worst. It was like children."</p>
<p>Despite being twice denied the chairmanship, says Snow, "I don't hold a grudge and I don't feel cheated. I'm not crying."</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/108991/board-tradition-forget-about-it-when-29-bypass-involved#comments_BreakingNewsFeaturedAlbmarle Board of Supervisorsann mallekdennis rookerduane snowken boydwestern bypassNewsMon, 14 Jan 2013 16:42:27 +0000lisa108991 at http://www.readthehook.comCounty water board gets new appointeeshttp://www.readthehook.com/69059/county-water-board-gets-new-appointees
<p>The Albemarle County Service Authority, which sells water to county customers, has <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2009/11/07/supe-elect-thomas-eyes-water-plan-for-ax/">two new members</a> on its board. Marvin Hilton, a retired engineer, is new Supervisor Duane Snow's pick for the Samuel Miller District, a decision Snow says he didn't make until the morning of the January 6 supes' meeting. In the Rio District, Supervisor Rodney Thomas appointed attorney Dave Thomas, who is no relation.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Out are Liz Palmer and Don Wagner, both of whom shepherded in an innovative <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2009/06/18/4x-club-rewarding-thrift-county-taxes-water-hogs/">four-tier pricing structure</a> that rewards conservation, and who urged candidates in last fall's Board of Supervisors' race to sign a pledge supporting a controversial community water supply. Rodney Thomas did not take the pledge.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">And on the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority, which supplies water to Charlottesville and Albemarle, Supervisor Ken Boyd will represent the county on that board, succeeding Sally Thomas (no relation to the previous two Thomases). Boyd also sits on the <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2009/12/10/jury-verdict-rwsas-star-witness-convicted-of-extortion/">Rivanna Solid Waste Authority</a>.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace"><em>Pledge takers corrected 3pm January 7 </em><br />
<em>Updated January 8</em></p>
http://www.readthehook.com/69059/county-water-board-gets-new-appointees#comments_BreakingNewsGovt/PoliticsInfrastructureacsaduane snowrodney thomasThu, 07 Jan 2010 18:29:48 +0000lisa69059 at http://www.readthehook.comRepublican resurrection: Margin stuns Dems--- and the GOPhttp://www.readthehook.com/69616/republican-resurrection-margin-stuns-dems-and-gop
<!&#8211; This will not be inserted &#8211;><!&#8211; This will not be inserted &#8211;><div class="captionLeftLandscape"><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/news-snow-thomas.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-22711" title="news-snow-thomas" src="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/news-snow-thomas-325x243.jpg" alt="news-snow-thomas" width="325" height="243" /></a><strong>The new faces of the GOP on the Albemarle Board of Supervisors are area old-timers Duane Snow and Rodney Thomas.</strong><br />
<small>PHOTOS BY WILL WALKER<br />
</small></div>
<p>Four years ago, Creigh Deeds <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/Stories/2005/11/17/cover357voteGorillaDeedsWo.html">lost a statewide race</a> to Bob McDonnell by one of the <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/Stories/2005/12/15/newsHairsBreadthMcdonnellC.html">smallest margins</a>&#8211; 360 votes&#8211; in recent history. In glaring contrast, his 18-point defeat to McDonnell November 3 marks one of the largest margins in a governor's race since George Allen crushed Mary Sue Terry in 1993, 58 percent to 41 percent.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">So resounding is the rout, both Democrats and Republicans are scratching their heads, despite pre-election polls predicting a McDonnell victory.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"Personally, I thought it would be closer than that," says Fred Hudson, chairman of the 5th District Democratic committee and the number 3 Dem statewide. He attributes the staggering loss to an "anti-Washington factor."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"I was surprised by that," says Republican radio host Rob Schilling. "The polls were well into double digits&#8211;- 14, 16 points. I thought the polls have got to be wrong."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">For Schilling, the dissatisfaction he's seen across the state comes from national politics. "It seems everyone I talked to was fed up on a national level," he says.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">The shockwaves that loosened the Democratic grasp of the governorship were felt in <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2009/10/15/COVER-election-amalg.aspx">local elections</a>, which ousted an incumbent Dem from the Albemarle Board of Supervisors and ushered two Republicans on the board.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"Albemarle County voted at the same level it did in 2008," says Democrat Hudson. "It did not have lower turnout. Republicans were highly motivated, highly charged about getting out the vote."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">And although Deeds represents part of Albemarle County as 25th District state senator, McDonnell carried the county by 337 votes.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">In the Samuel Miller District, Republican Duane Snow won a three-way race, taking 45 percent of the vote against Democrat Madison Cummings, who got 40 percent and had the endorsement of retiring Supervisor Sally Thomas. Independent John Lowry came in with 15 percent.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"Duane Snow was the beneficiary of a large amount of anxiety and fear about the direction of Washington," opines Hudson.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"Duane went into this with name recognition from his garden show," says Rob Schilling. "That district is more liberal leaning. Frankly I was expecting John Lowry to take votes away from Duane."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">The real upset in perhaps the most contentious county race was Republican Rodney Thomas' defeat of Dem incumbent and chairman of the Board of Supervisors David Slutzky in Rio, Albemarle's smallest and most urban district.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"Supervisor races are so personal&#8211;- sometimes they're more that than about the issues." says Paul Wright, Thomas' campaign manager. "Rodney is very personable." And like Snow, he's a native son.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Thomas knocked on 4,000 doors and wore out two pairs of shoes, reports Wright. And in the course of going door-to-door, he heard that the responsiveness of the incumbent was a big issue for constituents, says Wright.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"People said we need someone who returns our call," says Wright. "That's the thing about door-to-door&#8211;- people will tell you that."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">While Wright says he always thought Thomas had a good chance in unseating Slutzky, he didn't see the 18-point spread in the governor's race.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Compared to 2008, the most significant change this year took place in the 'burbs, believes Wright. "The ones that shifted the most were suburban voters," he says. "McDonnell did very well in Northern Virginia. He did very well in rural areas I thought that were supposed to be Deeds country."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Amid the Republican carnage, Charlottesville remained resolutely Democratic, and the majority party swatted down a single-shot effort by independent Bob Fenwick to get on City Council. Fenwick logged in a respectable 3,280 votes, and in other election years, it would have been enough to get him elected. But this year, he couldn't stop <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2009/09/24/norris-and-szakos-we-like-bikes/">Mayor Dave Norris and Kristin Szakos</a> from maintaining a Democratic Council.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">And the city's Democratic momentum elected James Brown for sheriff over independent Paul Best.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">It was no surprise that 57th District Delegate David Toscano easily won reelection over independent Robert Brandon Smith, who had little money, organization or publicity. What raised eyebrows was that Smith <a href="https://www.voterinfo.sbe.virginia.gov/election/DATA/2009/37C2EDEB-FACB-44C1-AF70-05FB616DCD62/UnOfficial/8_p3_s.shtml">pulled in 3,840 votes</a>&#8211;- 21 percent.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"I was shocked," says Dem chair Fred Hudson. "I had to do a triple take on that."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">In sharp contrast in the 58th District, Cynthia Neff had the backing of the Democratic Party in her effort to unseat Rob Bell, and she could only muster 33 percent.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"She worked like a dog," says Hudson. "I was very sad by that. But you've got to place that in the context of who was going into the voting booth and the fixation on Washington."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Rob Schilling thinks <a href="http://www.cynthianeff.com/blog">Neff's blog</a> and ads that controversially compared Bell to a cheating husband were her undoing. "The strategy to go after Rob personally was a bad idea," says Schilling.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">And with the Republican knock-down on November 3, Schilling smells blood in the water for 2010.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"I think [5th District Congressman] Tom Perriello is shaking in his boots, and rightfully should be," declares Schilling.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"I want to emphasize that the results of the election are not the death knell of the Democratic Party," insists Hudson. "I don't think Republicans should think the sky is blue and grass is green. It wasn't that kind of a race. It was an aberration."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Hudson is confident that the economic issues plaguing the Dems this year will have moderated by next year's mid-term elections and will "change the tone and feel of the race," he says. "I'm not very concerned about that."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">But this year's race still puzzles Hudson. "It's a heck of a story," he says. "It's whole complex of weird events."</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/69616/republican-resurrection-margin-stuns-dems-and-gop#comments_BreakingNewsFeaturedGovt/Politics2009 electiondavid slutzkyduane snowrodney thomasSat, 07 Nov 2009 12:53:24 +0000lisa69616 at http://www.readthehook.comSlutzky ousted; Machine coasts to victory in Cityhttp://www.readthehook.com/69621/slutzky-ousted-machine-coasts-victory-city
<!&#8211; This will not be inserted &#8211;><!&#8211; This will not be inserted &#8211;><div class="captionLeftLandscape"><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/news-szakos-norris-med.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-19737" title="news-szakos-norris-med" src="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/news-szakos-norris-med-325x234.jpg" alt="news-szakos-norris-med" width="325" height="234" /></a><strong>Kristin Szakos and Dave Norris won in the city.</strong><br />
<small>FILE PHOTO BY LISA PROVENCE<br />
</small></div>
<p>Democratic machine candidates Dave Norris and Kristin Szakos held off a <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2009/10/27/single-shot-can-an-independent-win-council-seat/">challenge by independent Bob Fenwick</a> to retain an all-Democratic Charlottesville City Council, according to <a href="https://www.voterinfo.sbe.virginia.gov/election/DATA/2009/37C2EDEB-FACB-44C1-AF70-05FB616DCD62/UnOfficial/00_540_s.shtml">data</a> from State Elections Board. But in the more politically diverse Albemarle County, the <a href="https://www.voterinfo.sbe.virginia.gov/election/DATA/2009/37C2EDEB-FACB-44C1-AF70-05FB616DCD62/UnOfficial/00_003_s.shtml">data</a> show that a political newcomer has upset the establishment by ousting Democratic incumbent David Slutzky.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Slutzky, who raised <a href="http://cvilletomorrow.typepad.com/charlottesville_tomorrow_/2009/10/campaign_finance_update.html">the most money</a>, who aligned himself with the <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2008/11/01/story-archive-hook-water-articles/">controversial Nature Conservancy plan</a> to create a single mega-reservoir, and who has been serving as the Chairman of the Board, joins fellow Democrat Madison Cummings, the protege of retiring reservoir-backing Supervisor Sally Thomas, in going down to defeat.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">The man who beat Slutzky, Republican Rodney Thomas, was the only party candidate who refused to sign a reservoir-backing pledge foisted on the candidates by Conservancy plan backers Liz Palmer and Don Wagner. The man who defeated Cummings is Republican Duane Snow.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Fenwick, who ran on a platform of "saving" McIntire Park from the YMCA and the Meadowcreek Parkway as well as his support of dredging the existing reservoir, nearly tripled the tally of the other independent on the Council ballot. Yet his 3,280 votes fell short of the 5,074 garnered by Szakos and the 6,292 for Norris.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"I can't remember the last time an independent set the agenda in a Council race like I did," said Fenwick as the final precincts were reporting. "We raised some important issues, and it's been a privilege to speak to the community."</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/69621/slutzky-ousted-machine-coasts-victory-city#comments_BreakingNewsFeaturedduane snowelection 2009rodney thomasWed, 04 Nov 2009 01:52:48 +0000hawes69621 at http://www.readthehook.comCummings and Snow spar on taxes, cutshttp://www.readthehook.com/69780/cummings-and-snow-spar-taxes-cuts
<p>Democratic Samuel Miller district supervisor candidate Madison Cummings blasts Republican opponent Duane Snow for suggesting a budget ax of up to 20 percent to help rein in the <span class="article_font">potential $2.4 million deficit that Albemarle County might face by 2011</span>. Bryan McKenzie has <a href="http://www2.dailyprogress.com/cdp/news/local/local_govtpolitics/article/candidate_takes_rival_to_task_on_budget_cuts/47704/#When:04:01:12Z">the story</a> in the <em>Daily Progress</em>.</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/69780/cummings-and-snow-spar-taxes-cuts#comments_BreakingNewsGovt/Politicsduane snowMadison CummingstaxesTue, 20 Oct 2009 16:46:12 +0000hawes69780 at http://www.readthehook.comFish jump: but red herrings filleted at dredge testhttp://www.readthehook.com/70340/fish-jump-red-herrings-filleted-dredge-test
<!&#8211; This will not be inserted &#8211;><!&#8211; This will not be inserted &#8211;><div class="captionLeftLandscape"><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/news-dredgingfenwickatlochleigh.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-18690" title="news-dredgingfenwickatlochleigh" src="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/news-dredgingfenwickatlochleigh-325x243.jpg" alt="news-dredgingfenwickatlochleigh" width="325" height="243" /></a><strong>"Somebody's gonna make a good living out of doing a company and offering this service," said Fenwick Friday.</strong><br />
<small>PHOTO BY HAWES SPENCER<br />
</small></div>
<p>After <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2008/11/01/story-archive-hook-water-articles/">years of talk</a>, someone has finally taken action on dredging a water body in Albemarle County. Only it wasn't a County citizen; it was Charlottesville resident and City Council candidate Bob Fenwick.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"This is not rocket science," said Fenwick September 4, on the shore of <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2009/08/08/spray-this-moment/">Loch Leigh</a>, a private lake in the West Leigh subdivision. "This is engineering, and this is a basic application of mechanical equipment," he said.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">A former member of the Army Corps of Engineers, the folks who oversee many of the world's biggest dredging operations, Fenwick has turned his sights to what might be the world's smallest dredging operation.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"This is what should have been done," said <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2009/08/14/snow-softens-only-fenwick-is-jonesin-for-dredging/">engineer-builder Fenwick</a>, as he readied a four-horsepower, motorized pump, "and what will be done in the future."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace"><span style="float: right"><span style="float:none;"></span></span>Fenwick expressed hope that West Leigh residents might consider hydraulic dredging to restore their formerly emerald green lake, whose western end has lost at least an acre of surface area and become a distinctly chocolate-brown puddle.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Just after 10:15am Friday, Fenwick pulled the starter cord, and the dual-diaphragm Koshin mud pump&#8211;- $65/day from Central Virginia Rental&#8211;- hummed to life.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Instantly, opaque water glugged out of the end of a three-inch pipe. As mud settled at the base of a set of straw bales and plastic, cleaner water&#8211;- relatively, at least&#8211;- flowed back toward Loch Leigh.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"That, my friends, is dredging," Fenwick said triumphantly. "If you have auxillary pumps, you can pump a long way."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Fenwick said he wanted to show lake-losing neighborhoods how to prevent a safety hazard as mucky bio-materials create a potentially dangerous shoreline entrapment situation.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"This is as close to quicksand as Virginia has," said Fenwick. "If I were to walk out five feet, I'd probably get back, but I'd lose my shoes."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Fenwick's larger purpose was demonstrating the simplicity of dredging the Rivanna Reservoir, a 43-year-old water body that may eventually lose 80 percent of its capacity without a dredging operation. (Fenwick says dredging the Rivanna would require a larger device such as the <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2008/04/03/news-dredging-D.aspx">Mud Cat brand</a> of barge-mounted hydraulic dredges.)<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"There are cutterheads," explained Fenwick, "that will take a stump that's been underwater for 43 years."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">If he's right, that would destroy one of the arguments backers of the Nature Conservancy's competing water supply proposal have been using: that the stumps of the trees felled in 1966 for the reservoir would create an insurmountable obstacle.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Another potential obstacle mentioned Friday several times by one non-profit-based journalist was the alleged difficulty of gaining government permits.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"That's a red herring," says Richard Lloyd. Though not present at Friday's test, Lloyd is an engineer who has recently begun speaking out against the Conservancy's plan. Although it won support of both local governments, Lloyd believes the Conservancy's dam/pipeline scheme will end up costing over $200 million&#8211;- a prospect he contends would triple household water bills.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">West Leigh resident, landscape business veteran, and candidate for County Supervisor Duane Snow learned about the test afterwards. Snow is on record supporting the Conservancy's controversial dam/pipeline water plan, but he said he welcomes the dredging test.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"I think it's great," said Snow, "because if someone can produce in the next few months evidence that it will give us the same amount of water&#8211;- which I don't think is possible&#8211;- then I would sign off on it."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Snow also likes something else that Fenwick said: that choosing a dredge consultant <em>before</em> getting the price may not be a brilliant idea. The local waterworks learned to its chagrin last month that, HDR, the dredge consulting firm that some were hoping to hire for around $275,000, <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2009/08/25/dredge-wedge-firm-late-wants-nearly-700k/">now wants nearly $700,000</a>. That's to study a reservoir whose volume was measured in 2002.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"People have an idea that as long as we're doing studies, then we're making progress," said an exasperated Snow. "If I operated my business like that, I'd be out of business."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Watching all the action was a gaggle of geese that alighted near the dredge site, shortly after a couple of fish made pirouettes above the water. Another viewer was well-known historian and radio host Coy Barefoot.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Barefoot, who lives along the shrinking lake, agreed to let his forested yard serve as the test site and filtering zone. He says he now can barely get his canoe in the water&#8211;- due to all the muck.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"My neighbors and I," said Barefoot, "are looking at a lake that's silting in, and I saw this as a good way to learn more about dredging as an option."</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/70340/fish-jump-red-herrings-filleted-dredge-test#comments_BreakingNewsFeaturedInfrastructurebob fenwickdredgingduane snowloch leighthe nature conservancywest leighFri, 04 Sep 2009 20:16:56 +0000hawes70340 at http://www.readthehook.comSnow softens: Only Fenwick is jonesin' for dredginghttp://www.readthehook.com/70558/snow-softens-only-fenwick-jonesin-dredging
<!&#8211; This will not be inserted &#8211;><!&#8211; This will not be inserted &#8211;><div class="captionLeftLandscape"><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/news-water-snowmooney3.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-17440" title="news-water-snowmooney3" src="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/news-water-snowmooney3-325x243.jpg" alt="news-water-snowmooney3" width="325" height="243" /></a><strong>Snow accepts acclaim and umbrella from dredge fan Betty Mooney at the May 26 Republican event.</strong><br />
<small>PHOTO BY HAWES SPENCER<br />
</small></div>
<p><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2008/11/01/story-archive-hook-water-articles/"><img class="size-full wp-image-17955 alignright" title="water stories button.indd" src="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/waterstoriesbutton.jpg" alt="water stories button.indd" width="85" height="99" /></a>Where do the candidates stand on dredging? In the county, <a href="http://www.cvillepedia.org/mediawiki/index.php/Duane_Snow">Duane Snow</a> appears to be the most dredge-malleable among the five seeking the two available seats on Albemarle's governing board. In the city, it's independent <a href="http://www.cvillepedia.org/mediawiki/index.php/Bob_Fenwick">Bob Fenwick</a> who has taken the boldest stand on the issue of damming vs. dredging.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"Why has the damming issue been the default position when dredging has hardly been considered?" Fenwick asked last Saturday at a downtown press conference. "This [dam] is potentially hundreds of millions in taxpayer money, which may not do what it intends to do."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Fenwick said that he'd <a href="http://rivannadam.com/">push</a> for ending what he sees as an endless cycle of studies, such as the <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2009/08/07/kick-the-can-waste-decried-as-dredge-study-firm-named/">one recently launched</a> that could cost a year in time and $275,000 in cash to measure the dwindling Rivanna Reservoir. Fenwick also said at his August 8 event that he would instead launch a pilot dredging program.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"I am not a big fan of consultant studies," says Fenwick. "A consultant is an excuse for a politician or a department head not to reach a decision."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Fenwick, a builder with seven years experience working in the Army Corps of Engineers, claims his credentials meet or exceed those of anyone in the discussion, and he's calling on local officials to stop planning a new dam for the Ragged Mountain Natural Area, a process that has already cost local citizens $1.7 million toward a planned $3.1 million dam design contract&#8211; with the cost of actually building the dam <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2008/11/10/hide-and-leak-dam-costs-at-least-20-million-more/">currently unknown</a>.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">
<!&#8211; This will not be inserted &#8211;><!&#8211; This will not be inserted &#8211;><div class="captionRightLandscape"><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/news-bobfenwick.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-17439" title="news-bobfenwick" src="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/news-bobfenwick-325x243.jpg" alt="news-bobfenwick" width="325" height="243" /></a><strong>Dredging was the topic of Fenwick's latest policy talk. He holds such talks </strong><strong>each Saturday.</strong><br />
<small>PHOTO BY HAWES SPENCER<br />
</small></div>
</p><p>Fenwick disputes several key recent claims, particularly the excuse that the <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2009/06/25/more-spending-rivanna-moves-past-gannett-fleming/">now-ousted</a> dam-design firm, Gannett Fleming, which was <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2008/05/01/NEWS-water-May6HearingScheduled-C.aspx">paid $12,000 last spring to downplay dredging</a>, was surprised to find "fractured rock" at the site.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"Fractured rock is everywhere," says Fenwick, noting that the County's crust was laid down about 300 million years before the breakup of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangea">Pangea</a>, the world's first land mass. "So it should come as no surprise to anyone that there is fractured rock at that location."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Fenwick suggests "not a penny" for dam design before obtaining a new measurement of demand. As recently as this month, Rivanna officials defended their projections of skyrocketing demand even though the populace, while growing, is <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2009/07/27/down-22-percent-water-thrift-backfires/">buying 22 percent less water</a> than 10 years ago.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"When you hear suspicious statements coming from public officials of the Rivanna Water &amp; Sewer Authority," says Fenwick, "it raises questions."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Fenwick claims there's been a "lack of leadership" by Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris, even though Norris has been the only major elected official to <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2008/11/01/story-archive-hook-water-articles/">seriously push for dredging</a>. One of two Democrats Fenwick is challenging for the two open seats on Council, Mayor Norris has been unable&#8211;- or unwilling&#8211;- to simply stop the expenditures on dam design.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"It's puzzling when Dave has such a prominent local profile that he doesn't become more assertive," says Fenwick. "There are plenty of people who will listen to him."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Norris declined to comment on the criticism.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Fenwick says the City could buy one or more of the 40-60 parcels bordering the Rivanna Reservoir for dewatering, and even if dredging fails as water supply salvation, the exercise will provide useful data for saving other dwindling lakes, such as the one in the Four Seasons neighborhood, which Fenwick sees as a potentially dangerous bog.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"We would recoup that investment because there are many more places where we need that technology in the coming years&#8211;- it will not be wasted money," says Fenwick, who notes that the land could later be sold in a stronger real estate market.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">The other independent City Council candidate, Paul Long, says he has no position on dredging; and the other Democrat, Kristin Szakos&#8211;- running with Norris under a “YourCharlottesville” slogan&#8211;- says she looks forward to the results of the impending dredging study as an avenue for shrinking the proposed dam.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">In Albemarle County, only Duane Snow actually enthused about dredging during his acceptance speech. It happened May 26 at the Republican nominating process under a picnic pavilion at McIntire Park, where Snow won an immediate endorsement from a watching Democrat, Betty Mooney, who sees dredging as a fiscally conservative way to supply water.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Asked a moment later by the <em>Hook</em> if he were the dredging candidate, Snow replied, "On the surface, yes. I want to hear how much water is in there. I want to hear how much sediment is in there."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Snow told his fellow Republicans he got so intrigued about dredging upon his return from a year and a half of Philippine missionary work that he began devouring newspaper articles to get up to speed on the hot topic. The debate exploded while he was gone after revelations that while angling for the dam contract, Gannett Fleming portrayed dredging as smelly, noisy, and <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2008/05/01/NEWS-water-May6HearingScheduled-C.aspx">costing up to $223 million</a>.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"When we get the facts and figures," said Snow, "I think you're going to find out it's a lot cheaper than the dam builders said."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">In a more recent interview, however, Snow says that conversations with <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2009/05/14/unblocked-reservoir-rwsa-may-okay-dredging-study/">dam supporter Elizabeth Palmer</a> reminded him that the existing Ragged Mountain dam system needs repair, so he remains open to the idea of rebuilding it. Even though repairing it might cost <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2008/03/13/COVER-reservoir-LostOpportunities-F.aspx">a fraction of the price</a>?<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"Suppose we get another drought," says Snow. "I don't want to be standing on the board when everyone says you were responsible for solving this problem."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Snow faces dam-friendly independent John Lowry and dam-friendly Democrat Madison Cummings in the Samuel Miller district which includes the Ednam Forest neighborhood, a place where some are unhappy that all three candidates seem willing to allow rock blasting and tree cutting just a few hundred yards from their homes.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"I'm very concerned," says past neighborhood president Sam Freilich. "I'd very much like to see dredging take the place of tearing up the Ragged Mountain Natural Area."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Over in the Rio district, which has more Rivanna Reservoir shoreline than any other district, neither Republican challenger Rodney Thomas nor incumbent Democrat David Slutzky have offered dredging any strong support, and Slutzky, in November, <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2008/11/14/soil-water-board-joins-city-seeking-dam-halt/">characterized dam opponents</a> as "frustrated people" who "continue to beat the drums of dissent in hopes of delaying the outcome.&#8221;<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">As for would-be Snow-backer Mooney&#8211;- who finds herself battling for dredging alongside such diverse parties as the <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2008/04/24/NEWS-water-CouncilUnited-A.aspx">Sierra Club</a> and technology magnate <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2008/10/07/crutchfield-writes-again-councilors-want-all-numbers/">Bill Crutchfield</a> (the latter of whom <a href="http://www2.dailyprogress.com/cdp/news/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/article/water_plan_cant_be_shortsighted/37241/">fears pipeline costs could skyrocket</a>)&#8211;- she says she's not convinced that Snow has flip-flopped.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"I'm going to believe," says Mooney, "what Duane told me that night&#8211;- until he calls me and tells me himself&#8211;- that he really believes in dredging."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Snow tells a reporter that water-saving technologies&#8211;- which Mooney sees as rendering the dam unnecessary, have been over-played. Proving his conservative <em>bona fides</em> are firmly in place, he mentions NASA technology for recycling urine into drinking water.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">"That may be great for members of the Sierra Club," says Snow, "but I'm not excited about it."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">***<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Nine hours after this story was posted online, dam/pipeline supporter Palmer released <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/the-consensus-statement-aka-the-anti-dredge-pledge.pdf">a statement</a> that Snow and three other candidates for Supervisor seats signed which, among other things, lauds the dam/pipeline plan as the most "economical."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace"><em>&#8211;last updated 1:29pm, August 17</em></p>
http://www.readthehook.com/70558/snow-softens-only-fenwick-jonesin-dredging#comments_BreakingNewsFeaturedbob fenwickdredgingduane snowFri, 14 Aug 2009 09:06:37 +0000hawes70558 at http://www.readthehook.comLowry finally declareshttp://www.readthehook.com/71201/lowry-finally-declares
<p><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-13864 alignleft" src="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/news-lowryspeech1resize-140x105.jpg" alt="news-lowryspeech1resize" width="140" height="105" />Clad in his usual bowtie, independent John Lowry officially announced his candidacy for the Samuel Miller District seat on the Albemarle Board of Supervisors June 3. He faces Republican Duane Snow and Democrat Madison Cummings for the seat held by Sally Thomas for four terms.</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/71201/lowry-finally-declares#comments_BreakingNewsGovt/PoliticsAlbemarle Board of Supervisorsduane snowJohn LowryMadison CummingsWed, 03 Jun 2009 20:02:11 +0000gordon71201 at http://www.readthehook.comSnow knows? Garden guru confirms run for Sally's seathttp://www.readthehook.com/71374/snow-knows-garden-guru-confirms-run-sallys-seat
<p><a href="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/news-duanesnow-smaller.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-12967 alignleft" title="news-duanesnow-smaller" src="http://www.readthehook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/news-duanesnow-smaller-325x216.jpg" alt="news-duanesnow-smaller" width="325" height="216" /></a> Three weeks after returning from an 18-month missionary trip in the Philippines, Duane Snow has a new mission. He will run for the Samuel Miller District seat of the Albemarle Board of Supervisors, joining a already crowded band of contenders.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Backed by a large number of friends and family, including ten of his twelve grandchildren, Snow formally announced his decision from the steps of the County Office Building Thursday, May 21 to a handful of supporters, media, and to dozens of County employees (who were out on the grass for an office-wide picnic).<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Reading from a prepared statement, Snow complimented neighbor and retiring Board member Sally Thomas who announced in April that she'll step down in December after 16 years.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">“The amount of time and effort she has devoted to this county is amazing,” Snow said.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Snow’s speech touched on his love for Albemarle and his desire to bring a “common sense” approach to the issues. Snow concluded with his four-point approach to handling problems: Listen to the people, gather the facts, make decisions based upon facts and common sense, and quick action after decision making.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">A graduate of Brigham Young University in 1970, Snow made a name for himself as CEO and President of Snow's Garden Center, serving with the Virginia State Agriculture Council and the Albemarle County Architectural Review Board. He also served with the local board of the American Heart Association and was president of the Charlottesville Rotary club.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Snow stressed the importance of quick action on issues.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">“I think if we do a study, we should make a decision on it,” Snow said. “What’s the purpose of a study if you don’t make a decision on it?&#8221;<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">A follow-up question found that he supports a dredging study to ascertain the volume of water in the Rivanna Reservoir.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">On another hot issue, he expressed enthusiasm for the under-construction but ever-controversial Meadowcreek Parkway.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">“When I was growing up back in the '50s," said Snow, "the big issue was building a bypass around Charlottesville, the 250 bypass. There was a lot of controversy at that point, whether or not to put it in with it going by four schools, but it is one of the nicest roads in Charlottesville. It’s beautiful.<br />
We have to find a way to boost traffic through Charlottesville without being caught up in it."<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">A Republican mass meeting has been scheduled for May 26 at Shelter 1 in McIntire Park to select candidates to the County Board of Supervisors from the Jack Jouett, Rio, and Samuel Miller district.<br />
</p><p class="whitespace">Snow faces competition from Philip Melita for the Republican nomination. Other publicly mentioned candidates include Democrat Madison Cummings and Independent John Lowry.</p>
http://www.readthehook.com/71374/snow-knows-garden-guru-confirms-run-sallys-seat#comments_BreakingNewsFeaturedGovt/Politicsduane snowsupesThu, 21 May 2009 19:51:56 +0000gordon71374 at http://www.readthehook.com